NEW DELHI: Numbers take the fizz out of the controversy over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's image figuring on the calendar of the Khadi and Village Industries Commssion (KVIC) instead of the original khadi icon, Mahatama Gandhi.

KVIC hit a big growth trajectory after Modi became Prime Minister and started promoting khadi at various platforms including his radio broadcast Mann Ki Baat.

During 2015-16, the sale of khadi products shot to Rs 1,510 crore, up 29 per cent from Rs 1,170 crore during 2014-15. In 2014-15, the growth was a mere 8.6 per cent.

KVIC eyes 35 per cent sales growth in the current fiscal. It has set an ambitious target of Rs 5,000 crore by 2018. A buoyont KVIC is now in talks with e-commerce players for promoting online sales.

PM Modi's promotion of khadi has translated into solid numbers. An example is his October 18 rally at Ludhiana where he made an appeal for adopting khadi by coining a slogan,"khadi for nation and khadi for fashion".

The next Sunday, on October 23, PM Modi's appeal resulted into a four-fold increase in sales at KVIC Connaught Place outlet — Rs 1.08 crore in a day, its highest so far. The sale on October 22 was only Rs 27 lakh.

The October 23 record surpassed Rs 82.5 lakh single-day sales on October 2 in 2015 at the same outlet.